Safeguarding adults

AWP staff and volunteers have an individual professional responsibility to act to safeguard adults who may be at risk of harm due to abuse or neglect by another person.

An adult at risk as a person aged 18 years or above:

has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs) and;

is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect, and;

as a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect.

According to local arrangements, AWP works with the local authority's multi agency safeguarding adults boards to help protect adults at risk.

However, service users, carers, families, friends and local communities are often the first to recognise that they, or a person who is vulnerable due to their health or circumstances, is possibly or actually being abused or neglected.

Abuse or neglect can be:

Physical

Sexual

Psychological/ Emotional

Financial or material

Neglect and acts of omission

Discriminatory abuse

Organisational abuse

Domestic abuse

Self neglect

The easy read leaflet 'Are you being abused or neglected?' provides information to service users on keeping themselves safe. Other leaflets, on financial or discriminatory abuse are also available.

Safety of welfare concerns

If you are concerned that a vulnerable person might be at risk of being abused or neglected, you can discuss this with an AWP member of staff working with the person.

However if concerned that someone who is vulnerable may be currently being abused or neglected (whether they are AWP service users or not) you should alert the relevant local authority safeguarding team or the Police if a crime has (on 101) or is being committed (on 999).

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